


Heart is Fonder

by schulott



Series: And we find home in each other's arms [5]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Azerbaijan GP 2021, Canadian GP 2021, French GP 2021, Future Fic, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Slice of Life, no beta i just exist, what is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:48:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29060814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/schulott/pseuds/schulott
Summary: Distance makes the heart fonder, and how true is that saying?(Or: just what is says on the tin I guess?)(Near-)future fic surrounding the 2021 Azerbaijan, Canadian and French GP.
Relationships: Callum Ilott/Mick Schumacher
Series: And we find home in each other's arms [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089959
Comments: 10
Kudos: 51





	Heart is Fonder

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of these characters, and this is a work of fiction. This is not intended to be any reference to, or be any likeness to any people or events in real life. No economic value of any kind has been produced in writing this.
> 
> So uh, I wrote this in little bits and pieces over the week. Also had a high fever and am waiting for a test result atm. So idk if the ending made any sense bc i literally wrote it while cooped up in bed. But anyways.
> 
> This one should be a bit mild when compared to the other parts and is more like a slice of life, not sure if it works.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this.

**25 May 2021**

_Tuesday 15:05 CET_

It is not easy to say what you prefer to do, when the preferred option - i.e. racing a car - is out of the question when it comes to probable and realistic choices this year. The chief option has to be doing Free Practice sessions, that is a given, but there is no option but to wait for the chances to come his way when they appear; then it is the two usual alternatives for Callum - going to races to look pretty in the garage, or hitting the simulator in search of performance gains for Charles and Carlos.

Sitting in the simulator would probably be the next best thing in terms of keeping Callum sharp in terms of racing, as he is still looking for performance gains and racing against a stopwatch after all, even though it is just different with only the simulated bumps of the roads and the car moving underneath him, that it is just different from the real thing. It does though, shows Ferrari he is contributing and has a value to them, and might help his chances going forward. As slim his chances are having found himself in this impossible situation in terms of his career advancement, he is not about to give up and call it quits just yet.

Going to races though, would be keeping himself on the radar for people in the paddock and the wider racing world. With so many talents inside and outside the racing ladder, it is easy to be forgotten when you are not an active racer showcasing your skills, even if you have been impressive in the car previously. By being present at races, seeing and be seen by personnel of different teams, occasionally stopping by to talk to different people, it is a way to remind people that he still exists, and keeping a foot in the door when it comes to any future opportunities that may arise, keeping him on the list of names to be considered when people think of drivers that could potentially fill their seats, should an opening arise.

Ask Mick and he would tell you that he does the look pretty part very well, and Callum would say that is entirely unhelpful because that is not what he meant.

To be fair, this is an entirely academic discussion anyway, given that Callum has little influence on his plans for each weekend, usually just doing whatever his team deems fit for their purpose instead, if he is told that he is going to a race, he is not about to disagree and say that actually he prefers pulling long nights in the simulator instead. If he genuinely wants to do something racing related in the meantime, he could always go and kart somewhere at a karting track to get his fill of speed and fun.

It is not necessarily something that keeps him up at night, that would be reserved to the bigger question of where he is going to be next year, or the more delightful option of Mick being the reason he is being kept up at night. But without sidetracking, it is also the reason why he is not too fussed when he gets told by the team about the plans for him for the upcoming few races, just nodding and saying okay and planning accordingly for the whens and wheres and hows for himself.

He hops into his car, sitting in the carpark of the factory as he texts his plans to his family and then to Mick, who is at his team’s factory down the road with a busier schedule than Callum for the day.

While Mick is going to stay in Maranello until he flies out to Baku, and would fly home to Switzerland after Montreal, Callum is not going to either of these flyaway races. Either way, he has been planning on flying home to England after stopping by Maranello this week regardless of what their plans were for him anyway, with a two-week gap either side of Monaco, and he has been meaning to look for a chance to recharge before getting back into the mix. Seeing family also plays a part, and he does miss his dog quite a bit.

It would mean leaving Mick behind though, and it is not really that big of an issue, seriously, they are not co-dependent entities after all, and he knows that Mick is probably going to throw himself into training and preparation work anyway. They have managed fine being on their own before, and there is no reason it would not continue just because they have now become an item. Plus, technology is a wonderful thing, and they can still be in touch almost instantly even if there are miles between them.

At least that is what he tells himself, which by no means is incorrect by any measure, but maybe he has just grown a tiny bit attached - that the past few weeks had been a little too good living in a virtually undisturbed bubble with Mick. His boyfriend probably thinks along similar lines too, because while his texts back to Callum gives nothing away about how he feels about this, when he finally returns to their place, Callum gets pulled into a hug that is even longer than the ones they normally have.

The fact there is a standard of “normally” is probably a good indicator of how used to it all Callum has grown to this.

Regardless, they have managed to keep it relatively normal, despite Callum planning to fly out the next day to see his family after a month, there were no overt grand gestures being made, or frenzy over one thing or the other. They just hung out at the pool, just the two of them through the afternoon that has grown hotter than previous weeks with summer starting to creep in, and later in the evening sat together in front of the television, watched a game of late-season football that is on. When they head to bed that night, he might have scooted impossibly closer to Mick than he usually would, and an arm is thrown over his middle, pulling him even closer, despite how the early summer night is probably a touch too warm for them to be cuddling together.

* * *

**26 May 2021**

_Wednesday 18:14 GMT_

Callum sits cross-legged on the floor in front of the window, scratching Poppy’s head. For once Poppy is calmly sitting in his lap, rather than being an over-excited puppy that hops around and barks at Callum, being compliant to Callum’s maneuvering and seemingly enjoying the attention from him at the moment.

Some news is on the telly at the moment, though he is not particularly paying attention, instead he is listening to the sounds of his little sister telling his parents some story about school. It is a familiarity he has missed, during the month he was away. It is not necessarily something that he has always been aware of - with his teenage years largely dominated by racing, it almost seemed normal that he is always on the move, and that time at home comes at a premium, but it was the way that he was used to. There was this spell when he had gone consecutive years (was it five?) without spending his birthday at home, as he was usually on his way out to Macau at that time of year, seeing as the Macau Grand Prix usually takes place in mid-November, and that is just how the schedules worked out for him.

Spending his twenty-second at home was definitely a change of scenery for him and a different perspective. Macau still is unfinished business for him, but would probably remain so, having been so close to victory time and again but never managing to make that last step, but he has probably had enough of it, at least in terms of being in a Formula Three car at that track. He tried, he did his best, and it is time to move on.

Being at home though, not just for his birthday, but also for the more extended time at the start of the year when he did not have to go racing, just felt different to him. In a way, he would not say that it feels like he missed out on something, but it just reminds him that there is so much more in life that can be enjoyed, even if he has always been aware of it, that he finally has the time to put it into practice. Helping out around the house more, and spending time with his little sister, aside from the obvious of being with his dog, all that he has not had the opportunity of doing more of in the past.

There is also the part where he occasionally runs into his friends, those from outside racing and back in his school days, when he goes out to do the grocery runs for his family. The people that also grew up with him, having a different outlook and trajectory in life, and in a different way, also people that had a part in Callum becoming Callum, seeing as the company one keeps always would have an influence on what a person becomes. He gets a little more active in the text groups, dividing part of his attention from his usual internet adventures where he trolls the F1 Twittersphere.

Of course, the largest part of his attention lately remains to be on a certain blond German boy who claims the platinum highlights that occasionally appear in his hair are natural.

Mick had dropped him off in the morning at the airport, with it being deserted given the time of day and general reduced traffic. He still wore a bright smile on his face, and taking advantage of the tinted window of the car, had leaned over to draw Callum into a breathless kiss before finally stepping out of the car and helping him with taking out his travel bag. Not that Callum needed help, considering he was travelling light, but he was not about to deny Mick the opportunity to walk him to the departures, if that is what he desired. It was one of the few times that a cap made sense for Mick, helping him to keep a low profile - even Callum was wearing one, and he was pulled into one last hug before Callum handed over his passport to be checked, entering the departures area and parting with Mick for now.

He landed and went through immigration and customs without much of a hitch, and texted Mick of his latest whereabouts as he stepped into an Uber to take him from Heathrow up to Herts, getting a kiss emoji and a thumbs up in return.

He is drawn out of his musings when he hears the armchair next to him being occupied, while Poppy is now asleep in his lap, and the sun starts touching the horizon, dying the sky in a mix of orange and red hue.

“How’s things lately?” His father inquires, as he joins Callum in looking out into the sky, sliding the glass door open a little to let some more air into the house through the backyard.

He shifts a little on the floor, trying to get the circulation back into his legs. Poppy awakes from his motions, and scurries off deeper into the house to do whatever she is usually up to in the house, turning around to bark at them once before disappearing into the corridor. He tilts his head a little, it being such an open question and there being a multitude of answers Callum could supply as well. Where to start, really?

“It’s different, I guess, to put it in a way.”

It is not something they have been over before, how it is weird that he is not racing week after week anymore, and being on the sidelines spectating, while still trying to stay sharp and in shape and being in the fray for the future; and how his life is still hectic, still racking up the miles as he goes from place to place for appearances, and also the long nights that he pulls sitting in the simulator. It is a grind, in a way, but one that he willingly signs up for, hoping that it would pay dividends to him somewhere down the road.

“How about Italy? How’s Maranello?”

Given that he has been living in Maranello on and off for three or four years at this point, it is safe to say that the the question is definitely not about Maranello in general - definitely way past the point to ask this question, plus the fact that they did talk about the town way back when he first moved there, being picked up by the FDA back then, freshly moving in with Marcus when both of them were looking for a place to stay while in Italy. He has to be incredibly dense to not read the question that is more about Mick and by extension, the new place they have together. And the fact that he is given the room to not talk about it, if that is what he prefers.

“Things are great, can’t complain on that front really.” He says honestly. “Mick is good too. He told me to say hi for him.”

“Nice kid he is, isn’t he?”

Callum hums in agreement, pondering his thoughts as he observes a plane painting a solitary contrail on the otherwise clear skies, before he makes a decision. “One of the good things that happened to me with all the shit going on,” he says, gesturing vaguely, pointing to the wider pandemic and adding with his personal career issues. “I mean you probably knew already, but yeah, we’re together.” He says with a shrug.

“We kind of had some ideas but didn’t want to assume,” his father says, “are you happy though?”

“Happier than I would’ve been otherwise, I think.”

“That’s all that is important.”

And it is like business as usual in the household. The fact that his parents had all the clues to make an educated guess about his relationship status probably helped the case, but it is the first time in the months that it has been a thing that he had actually said in uncertain terms that he and Mick are in a relationship. It is still a coming out of sorts, nothing dramatic though, even when Callum himself has a propensity to drama, and he likes this just fine - that nothing changes at all, like they were just talking about the weather, or the stock market, or just any other mundane thing that occasionally comes up as a topic.

He heads into the kitchen to help his mother out with the sizzling pans, as his little sister demands her attention, and this frees her to deal with whatever thing that she needs from their mother at that point in time.

Over dinner, he listens to his parents talking about the happenings in the community and the shire, as well as in the wider society, with the disruptions of the pandemic still ongoing to this day. They are not a racing family at its roots, so the topic of racing for once is not a dominant theme going around, which also suits Callum just fine. Eventually though, as they are clearing the table, his father, being a racing enthusiast does bring up the topic after all, asking about the last couple of races and the wider race for the world championship, though at one point he also mentions Mick’s impressive drive in Monaco, saying that he does not understand how he managed to get a point with that car he was driving. Callum also entertains him about the outlook of the upcoming races, on how the battle at the front might turn out (the silver arrows dominating being an obvious prediction), and also talking about the work of being in the simulator and what they do to look for those marginal gains to improve the team’s performance.

He gets back to the somewhat default of having Poppy in his lap, though now also with a glass of wine in hand, having poured himself some from one of the uncorked bottles he finds in the chiller. He picks up his phone, and manages to snap a selfie of himself, the glass and Poppy, sending it off to Mick.

From: Ilotty

_(Photo)_

_Poppy says hi :)_

Mick’s response comes almost instantly.

From: M ❤️️

_hi :)_

_how’s home?_

From: Ilotty

_good_

_free to talk later?_

From: M ❤️️

_I always have time for you_

* * *

_Wednesday 22:37 GMT_

Callum sits by the window in his room, looking out of the window, as he waits for Facetime to connect on his computer, hearing the drone of the dialing tone in his earbuds, before there is a click. He turns his eyes back to the screen, a smile involuntarily finding its way to his face when he sees Mick, lying on his side on the bed and showing himself in an unflattering angle on screen.

“Is it bad to say I miss you already?” Mick asks through the screen.

“Nah. I’d be alarmed if you say you don’t miss me.” Callum jokes, though there is a healthy dose of truth in that as well. “I miss you too.”

“Important to spend time with family though.” Mick says with certainty.

Callum hums in agreement.

Given the fact that they started the day together, there is hardly a lot of happenings to talk about in the less than twenty hours since then, so Callum just tells him the little things that he has seen today, like the dreadful traffic on the M25 on his way home, or that his family are all doing fine, and the various interactions he has had with Poppy throughout the day, even spinning his laptop around in the direction of where Poppy is laying on the floor in his room to show Mick real time what Poppy is up to at the moment.

It is almost like an afterthought, when he mentions the conversation he has had with his father. Mick is now not even looking at the laptop, instead lying on his back in bed and staring at the ceiling as he talks to Callum, leaving his side profile to be shown on the webcam.

“Yeah, I sort of told him today. About us.”

Mick glances at the screen. “Everything good?”

“Mhm. Just asked if I’m happy.”

“That’s good.” He sees a smile on Mick’s face.

“I mean, they probably knew for months anyway. They always knew it was you when we called back then. And let’s be real, they loved you anyway.”

* * *

**4 June 2021**

_Friday 20:19 AZT_

Jüri joins him for dinner at the hotel, with the Estonian having not yet had his meal yet for some unknown reason, probably having joined the Red Bull team in their debrief. Mick himself has come out of a long debrief to wrap up the first day on track, and there is not much of a way to put it than that it is underwhelming, with the car losing time both on the straights and in the corners, with signs pointing to it being a much worse weekend than Monaco, and the car’s weaknesses being exposed once again. He has pretended that he is not aware that there are new parts being trialed on his teammate’s car, one of his engineers not even being able to look him in the eye when Mick made some harmless comment about new car parts without specifying what he was talking about. People can make of it however they want to about it, seeing as his teammate is above him on the timing sheets. He has stayed professional in the debrief, just giving his feedback on his car without commenting much on other things, though he is again stuck there, as some convoluted discussions about engine modes took place on the other end of the table, and Mick checked out of the conversation near the end of it, having to resist the urge to play tic-tac-toe with himself on the piece of paper in front of himself.

Having Jüri’s company is always fun, the dude always up for a laugh and doing goofy things - and his friend has now taken to himself to try his hand on voice acting, as he spotted a couple on the other end of the restaurant seemingly arguing, and he starts putting in conversation content complete with both a mock male and female voice as he talks smack about the couple apparently arguing about Dijon sauce and threatening to divorce each other. It takes all of Mick’s willpower to not burst out laughing there and then, but it is a good way to help him wash away his foul mood.

When he finally gets a moment to himself, walking back to his room down the corridor, he pulls out his phone to text Callum.

“Long night ahead for you?”

There is no response initially, not that he is expecting a prompt one, considering he knows that Callum has already been busy with the pre-weekend work, and with the first day over, it is probably just starting to get busy for him right then. So he gets on with hopping into the shower to clean himself of sweat, taking his time to loosen his muscles under the warm water, and stretches a little as he tries to get the little cramp that has developed in his left foot over the course of the second session, some pressure point in his seat that probably needs to get fixed soon.

When he hops out of the shower, he pulls on one of Callum’s t-shirts he has brought with him, probably just a touch too small for his size, but he does not really care. He settles down on the bed, putting down his bottle of water that he has just drank out of, and picks up his tablet, intending to read the information that his team has sent him, planning to get that over with before he unwinds a little before bed.

Approximately fifteen minutes later, he tosses the tablet to the side and picks up his phone, seeing that he has gotten a few texts, including one from Callum. He opens it, to see that he has been sent a selfie of his boyfriend in the scarlet red racing overalls, and his hair in absolute disarray. He is throwing a thumbs up at the camera, and Mick spies the hint of the bracelet Callum is wearing, the counterpart of which is lying on the bedside table next to him, he reaches over to pick it up and toy with it, as he reads Callum’s text.

From: Ilotty

_Just getting started_

He texts back a good luck, sending back a selfie of himself with slightly messy hair of his own, having not done his hair coming out of the shower.

He connects his phone to the speaker he has with him, putting on a playlist of Callum’s, filled with acoustic songs that are quiet enough to be relaxing for him, as he decides on replying to the other texts he has gotten, including a longer reply composed for his mother - then picking up the news, seeing if there is anything that happened lately that may catch his interest, or at least registers in his head that it being something that he should be aware of. He is reading an article about the elections in a few months, when he gets a notification showing that Callum has texted back a 😘 in response.

* * *

**6 June 2021**

_Sunday 17:57 AZT_

“Mick, no points today, but that was one hell of a fight with your teammate, isn’t it?” Lawrence asks, the senior F1 writer getting straight to the point as Mick walks up to him in the media pen for the post race interviews.

Mick nods, wrinkling one side of his cheeks while doing so. He would be lying if he says that his mind is singularly on beating his teammate in the race, more so than usual, given the circumstances. With the early understanding that there is little chance that the car could get into the points for the race, he races against the other car much harder than he would otherwise. He of course, is also helped by the fact that there is a suspiciously minimal amount of communications being relayed to him about strategic directives being made by the team, and so he gave it full beans, unhindered by any team orders. He pushed his teammate, who is notorious for questionable racing tactics, to the limits, and there are countless occurrences of them going wheel to wheel from corner to corner, pushing each other out wide in a circuit that had little margins of error at places, all the while fighting for P17.

In the end, with eight laps to go, Mick forced a mistake out of his teammate, after he kept a cool head as his teammate weaved in front of him to block him down the kilometer-long front straight. He sells not one, nor two, but three dummies to his teammate, as he forces his way down the inside into turn one, while his teammate locks up and overshoots the corner. It is risky, in retrospect, given it has the shadows of the crash between Daniel and Max a few years ago, though he managed to pull it off unscathed.

He has conspicuously avoided his teammate since getting out of the car, lest he gets into a confrontation situation that he does not need. But there is no denying that it has been satisfying, even if the race result, in the wider picture, is lackluster to say the least.

“Yeah, it has been a tough battle. Quite fun though, all things considered. Shows you that it can be an exciting spectacle even at the back. Ideally of course we would want to fight for points, but I hope that we have put on a show for everyone back at home in a different way as well.”

“How does the team feel about this?”

“They haven’t made any orders this race, so I would assume that it is fine, and in the end we brought the cars back in one piece. Guenther will have a better idea than me on what he thinks though.” He says with a smile.

“Alright, top man, thanks.”

“Always good to talk to you.”

* * *

_Sunday 19:44 AZT_

Debrief was surprisingly not any longer than the previous ones, with the other side of the table probably less chatty than usual, and that suited Mick just fine, as that meant he could be on his way to walk back across the paddock to the hotel, settle down and unwind after the great exertions of the race. Deciding he could not be bothered with going back downstairs, let alone further out from the track to eat out, he picks up the room service menu and makes the call to order the first thing that takes his fancy out of the list, before promptly hopping into the shower to wash the sweat out of his hair.

It is good timing that the food is delivered just as he is dressed, and so he sits down, relaxing into the plush chair by the window, and digs into his meal. Only then does he start scrolling through his phone, ignoring the customary sea of mentions on his social media, he looks at texts from friends and family, and responding to them as he reads through them, before landing on the one from Callum.

From: Ilotty

_Feisty stuff from you today huh?_

_Good to see you asserting dominance tho ;)_

_Call me when you’re finally free?_

Mick does not even think twice before he presses the call button next to Callum’s name, propping up his phone as he shoves another spoonful of ravioli into his mouth.

And then nearly spits them all out.

He struggles to swallow the food, and feels his mouth going dry, as he sees Callum on screen. Not just that, but a shirtless Callum at that. Mick could approximate that his boyfriend has his phone propped up at the corner of the bathroom counter, against the wall, and judging by how he is towelling off his hair currently, it is obvious that he has just gotten out of the shower.

“Are you staring?”

Even when physically separated by hundreds of miles, and with the barrier that is their phone screens, connected only through the internet, Mick could hear the smirk from Callum’s voice, as he belatedly remembers to close his mouth, nearly resorting to using his own hand to push his jaw back into place.

“I mean, I did not expect that.” Mick defends himself, with a roll of his eyes, as he tears his eyes away from the phone and continues with his meal.

“Well, it’s your opportune timing.” Callum says, as he picks up the phone and goes out of the ensuite and sets it down on the window side table, as he moves to somewhere in the background to get dressed, coming back into shot as he is in the middle of pulling on a tank top, for once not a piece of clothing that Mick possesses. Callum has more or less taken to put every piece of Mick’s clothing he could find into his rotation, and Mick is torn between being annoyed about it and feeling things whenever he gets a sight of it.

“You’ve put on one hell of a show though, gotta say,” Callum starts again, finally starting the conversation in earnest. “Excellent brinkmanship, in a way.” He says, sounding and looking like he is genuinely impressed.

“Well,” he says, swallowing another mouthful of ravioli - it does not hold a candle to his own cooking, but it has to do - before continuing, “gotta assert dominance, like you said.”

Callum rests his head on his arms on the table, stretching a little in an awkward angle. “Would be lying if I said I didn’t think you were going to hit each other at some point though. That move you pulled looked like Baku 2018.”

Mick has to laugh, because that is exactly how he felt, “thought the same thing, honestly. To be fair, he is probably a bit cleaner than I expected today.”

Callum hums in assent.

Beyond mentioning in passing the parts shenanigans that took place, they moved on to lighter topics, like their observations of the F2 race that also took place in Baku, and then to something entirely unrelated to racing, such as Callum’s complaining that the temperatures have gotten way too hot in Italy over the weekend, as he says he is already sweating again. Mick had to actually hold his tongue, before he could suggest that Callum could just take off his top, knowing that it had the potential of descending into something much more. He thinks better of it though, as he instead suggests Callum take a dip in their pool, to which he is informed that it was actually what he was doing before he headed into the shower. Armed with that information, Mick couldn’t help but insert the joke that he hopes Callum hadn’t also put his phone into the pool, to which Callum just laughs helplessly, saying that he is not about to bin another phone doing that.

* * *

**8 June 2021**

_Tuesday 13:22 CET_

Callum is used to the drill by now, doing baseline set-up sessions early in the week, and starting to work with various variations of aero elements in the simulator and to feedback on the performance and feel of the car, as they move down various paths to look for a theoretical good balance for the car. Sitting there to listen to real time feedback from the track as the FP sessions go on, and debrief with the engineers again before getting into the thick of it and focus down a path that the drivers actually favour to look for the marginal gains so that the team is in a stronger position going into qualifying and the race.

It is hard work, but there is also a regiment to it all, and more focus on the singular task at hand. Callum schedules his training and life in general around the work plan at the factory, fitting in little gym sessions here and there down the road from the factory with his trainer whenever he is temporarily not needed in the simulator or the various debrief meetings he has to participate in to give his feedback and also listen to the needs and ideas of other team members.

He is down at the café of the factory, with Marcus joining him for brunch, still relatively fresh from arriving back from Azerbaijan. He has a cup of black coffee to himself to go with the pastry roll he has picked up from the serving plates, while Marcus has a more generous serving of the salad selections they have here, as well as busying himself with the phone, probably making another story on Instagram, judging by how he is pointing his phone around. He raises his eyebrows quickly at the camera when it is pointed at him, in the middle of taking a sip out of the still steaming hot cup.

The moment of reprieve is over quickly, as his quick catch up with Marcus is over in the blink of an eye, and he is back in the simulator building and getting straight back into the program, trying to get as much done as possible to help with the preparation work being done.

* * *

**11 June 2021**

_Friday 01:47 CET / Thursday 19:47 EST_

Callum was not exactly tossing and turning, but he has been moving about in the bed for the past fifteen minutes, hugging a pillow (Mick’s) to his chest. Chucking a cup of coffee at ten in the evening probably was not his brightest idea, but he was dialing into an engineering meeting in Montreal then, and was struggling to keep his eyes open and to process words.

The part of pre-weekend work is more or less complete, and now it is down to the cars on track to show how they can build on the simulator work and how they react to the actual track conditions and evolutions, then he would be back at work in the simulator after the Friday sessions are done at the track. He is supposed to be operating on an offset schedule to match the time zone at Montreal, so it would be a really early bed time for him, all things considered, but given how much effort he had put in the past few days, and in anticipation of the inevitable all-nighter that is coming his way, he thought he was planning ahead to get some more sleep in while he still could. That plan is now more or less out of the window. He should have just stood up and walked around the house instead.

Regardless, hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

Though this is also the reason why Callum is aware that he has gotten a text, with one of his hands still clutching his phone. Initially he assumes that it has to be one of the simulator team’s group chat talking about their plans or whatnot, though his curiosity gets the better of him, and he puts aside any pretenses of trying to sleep and cracks an eye open to peek at his lockscreen. He unlocks his phone to read it.

From: M❤️️

_(Photo)_

Callum strains to see what the picture is, before he finally makes out the outlines in the picture, and figures out that it is a photo of a dog by a lake, attached with a caption “saw this good boy while I was walking back from track.”

Callum rolls onto his stomach, forgetting about the idea of sleeping, and taps out a response.

From: Ilotty

_Did you kidnap him from his owner?_

The response he gets is instant.

From: M❤️️

_Don’t try me_

Before Callum can write out another witty response, his phone starts vibrating, screen taken over by Mick’s caller-ID, a photo of Mick’s cheeky smile looking right back at Callum. He stares for a moment before pressing accept.

“Why are you awake?” Mick asks, in lieu of a greeting.

Being the pain in the arse that he is, Callum decides to be unhelpful in his response. “Well, I’m talking to a certain Mick Schumacher on the phone.”

If people can hear eye-rolls, Callum must be hearing one now, though Mick humours him.

“Mhm, that I figured. But before that?”

Callum could not even surpress the grin that has found its way onto his face, even if Mick obviously could not see it.

“Texting you?”

“I’m going to hang up.” Mick declares, and the click he hears indicates that he has followed through with it too.

Callum does not even hesitate as he immediately clicks on the button to dial back.

“I had the genius idea to drink coffee at 10 p.m. and now I’m wide awake.” He tells Mick.

He hears Mick make a noise that might be indicative of confusion, before his boyfriend formulates a response that actually consists of words. “I can’t even fathom why you thought that is a good idea.”

Callum could hear the laugh that is bubbling up from the inside as Mick finishes the sentence.

“Not my finest moment.”

They end up talking to each other, as Mick puts him on the speaker, and Callum can hear him moving around his hotel room as they chat. Mick talks at length about the dog he has met and taken a picture of, by the sounds of it Mick had probably crouched there for a good five minutes as he interacted with the dog, and Callum could only imagine the sight of it all, with the owners of the dog stuck there while their dog gets hoarded by a random German guy passing by. That eventually slips into talking about other people’s dogs, chiefly Boris, Giuliano’s dog, who the self-proclaimed “not-a-pet-person” Marcus Armstrong had formed a bond with, as Callum recounts Marcus talking about Boris over their lunch catchup while still proclaiming that he is not a pet person.

They sidetrack into talking about other things after that, like Callum’s little sister finally getting back to the stables after having been unable to go during lockdown, and something about Rene Rosin getting a cake thrown at his face while back in Baku.

Callum slowly grows drowsier and drowsier as the night goes on, and he is not sure when he fell asleep, presumably with Mick still on the line, given the last memory he has of the evening is still talking on the phone.

When he wakes up in the morning, he sees there is a text waiting for him from Mick, sent at nearly 4 a.m. where Callum is.

From: M❤️️

_Hope you can get some good sleep finally <3 _

He sends back a red heart emoji to Mick.

* * *

_Friday 16:23 CET / 10:23 EST_

  
  


Callum is juggling some balls to work on his hand-eye coordination, he is lucky that his derailed sleep plan has not caused too much of a hit on him, and he feels relatively well rested waking up today. He has Sky F1 on the television, as he gets one more ball into the rotation, focusing as he tries to keep the balls in the air for as long as he can.

In the background, the cars are sporadically on track, with different teams running their respective programs. The commentators and pundits talk among themselves as they go through talking points and narratives that have developed over the course of the opening stretch of the season. Callum half listens to the talk on the screen, as one of the balls drops to the ground, and he kicks it out of the way as he continues juggling the remaining ones.

[Ted] ...yeah Crofty, the Alfas have been disappointing this season. It appears that the two Ferrari customer teams are still suffering from a deficit in power this season, which is not really a surprise given the restrictions to improvements that could be made for this season.

[Crofty] That has not stopped some spectacular racing coming from them though, have they? We saw how the two Haas cars were going hard at it against each other in Baku.

[Ted] Yes indeed. ( _loud engine noise passing by_ ) The word is though, some higher ups at Haas are not too pleased by how close the two cars got at some points in the race. Mick Schumacher’s triple dummy down into turn one was particularly delightful for us viewers, but I was told that it looked too much like the Red Bull crash a few years ago.

[Crofty] That’s true indeed…

[Ted] If you ask me, it probably has something to do with the differing aero package that team had brought to Baku, but who knows? It remains to be seen if there would be team orders even at that end of the grid. From what I hear, probably no, not yet at least.

[Crofty] Thanks ever so much, Ted.

[Crofty] Now, where were we?

[Ant] Disappointments in Baku.

[Crofty] Ah, yes. The Alpines have really failed to challenge...

Callum’s phone rings, and seeing that it is his mother, he picks up in no time, dropping the balls as he does so, answering as his mother checks up on him. He tells her that yes, he has been eating well, no, he would get some sleep when the weekend is over, and he even gets his mom to promise to send him more pictures of Poppy.

* * *

_Friday 21:57 CET / 15:57 EST_

It is almost a given that there would be work to be done in the simulator, no matter how well or bad the car performs on the actual track, such is the world of Formula One, where teams are forever searching for marginal gains. If people think that time can be found through more simulator time, that would be what they are going to do.

Hence, Callum, having made the drive down to the factory partway through the second practice session, is now changing back into his scarlet red gear, readying himself to climb back into the simulator cockpit. In the less than half an hour since the end of FP2, he has already stood there by the computer with the engineers, going through the data, looking at points where their car is losing time against other teams, as well as listening in on the feedback from the drivers at the track, hearing the pervasive issues about the stability of the rear of the car that has plagued them on and off for a few years.

He takes one last look at the data sheets he has on hand, before shoving aside all other thoughts, hopping into the simulator, doing everything he can to log the different observations and feedback he can have, working through the tweaks the team is coming up with in real time.

* * *

**13 June 2021**

_Sunday 20:23 CET / 14:23 EST_

Callum ended up passing up on watching the Saturday sessions, feeling like he had to have a change in scenery after the countless hours of hard work in the simulator. He sat down with Marcus, who had come over, and finally did one of those podcasts they had been talking about for months, as they went and talked about the randomest of things - like restaurants in Maranello and Bologna - their adventures with the Italian language and whatnot.

He then spent the rest of the Saturday afternoon lying on a pool float, basking under the summer sun, nearly falling asleep before scurrying into the shade when he felt like he was about to get sunburnt. He sat down for a session of Among Us in the evening, playing with his friends, letting himself wholly distracted from the matters of racing.

He started Sunday in similar fashion, though this time actually plunging himself into the pool, casually doing laps to get himself moving, as well as cooling down at the same time, as the heat got unbearable at times while the sun was still high up in the sky. He looked at the times in Montreal, and sent a text to Mick before the race, with both of them being busy and further hindered by the timezones, having not even texted in a meaningful manner for more than two days, which is bound to be a record, Callum thinks.

He would freely admit, that these days he is not particularly capable of staying put in front of the TV and watch an F1 race in full, particularly when it gets boring in some stints, but also there is still some persistent disappointment that he is sat here in front of the television, rather than being in one of the seats and actually throwing a car around himself. So he leaves the broadcast on, while he pulls out some of his equipment, thinking through some of the sets he has done lately to work through a few of them, just to take his focus elsewhere, if nothing else.

Mick is still around where he started, in the realms of P15/16, when Callum decides he is done with his spontaneous training, with the race more than halfway through, so he turns up the volume of the television, and moves outdoors, so he could hear in case something interesting happens, but otherwise lies down on a deck chair in the backyard under the sunset, picking up one of the books, none other than How to Build a Car, which he has always been meaning to read but not having made too much progress on.

Aside from a few wheel-to-wheel action and strategic shenanigans that has been called by Crofty and Martin on the broadcast, nothing of significant consequence happened, in the end, and there has not been much in way of a surprise in the finishing order, Callum finds out, when he returns indoors. He places down his book on the couch, as he reads a text from Marcus, who evidently has watched the race more avidly, and replies some general assent to his comments about Lewis’s dominance.

Mick called, later in the evening, and they were not really talking about something of much consequence - the race turned out the way it did, and Mick was pretty limited to the performance of the machinery he has, Callum having been just unwinding and relaxing himself. About the most interesting that came up was Mick mentioning the Porsche Supercup race that he had hung around and seen, and talked about his fascination about people driving GT cars and tin tops. Regardless of a lack of subject matter, they managed to drag out their conversation, as sometimes just the sight and voice of someone you hold close to your heart is just enough for you. Callum would be lying if he says he does not see the hint of longing on Mick’s face, even through the pixelated screen, and he wonders if he is mirroring that look in a way.

* * *

**14 June 2021**

_Monday 19:09 CET_

It is a familiar and well-trekked path, for most if not all of his life, whenever Mick travels in or out of Switzerland, it has mostly been through the same route and the same airport. He tugs the brim of his cap a bit lower, as he steps out onto the street and into the awaiting car, relaxing into the plush seat when he closes the door, leaning the side of his head into the tinted window of the car.

It is not that the path to home has grown foreign to him, nor is it that it has become an undesirable option to go home - that cannot be further from the truth - it is just that his heart is pulling him in another direction, a couple hundred kilometers to the southeast, to be exact. Well, there is the issue where the person he wants to see has flown back to England, and were it not for the fact that he promised his mother that he would be back after Canada, he might have been tempted to change his ticket and fly to London instead.

But no, he misses home too, so here he is, looking out of the window to see the surroundings pass by as he hurtles towards the side of Lake Geneva.

* * *

_Monday 19:57 CET_

There is food on the table when he enters the building, as Mick first puts his suitcase and other bags into the cloakroom, before crossing the expanse to get to the dining room, finding his mother placing plates on the table. She opens her arms when she spots Mick entering her line of sight.

“Right on time.” Corinna says, as she hugs Mick tight.

“Hi, I’m home.”

They sit down by the large window, overlooking Lake Geneva, as Mick joins his mother for dinner, and talks about everything. Everyone has been well in the weeks Mick has been away, and Gina had stopped by the week prior to check in on everyone, and even watched Monaco with them before getting on her way again to the ranches to work with the horses. His mother says that Angie missed him a lot, and had barked and whined at the television when Mick’s face was shown in the broadcasts. Almost as if on cue, his dog dashes into the room, front paws leaping into Mick’s lap and demanding attention. Mick laughs brightly, as he ruffles Angie’s hair, and lifts her into his lap, even though she is no longer a tiny puppy that she once was, and hugs her more properly.

His mother also asks after Mick, despite the fact that they often speak on the phone around race weekends, it does not take away the fact that it has been a while since he has been home. So Mick regurgitates things he has told his mother before, about the several races that have happened in the meantime, about how he feels in the car, the excitement of racing, and about how he has been doing himself. His mother also asks after him, if he is adjusting well to the surroundings, if anything is troubling him, if he is happy himself. Mick tells her that, yes, it takes a little getting used to, but he is managing the circus fine, and he is content with life at the moment, all things considered. Inevitably, Italy comes up, seeing as he had just quite abruptly decided to get a place earlier in the year and have stayed there for quite a while since. Mick says that life there is quite nice, a touch warmer than here, quite quiet where it is, and more convenient as well. His mother has a look on her face, when Mick left it at that, and it is obvious what it is about, though she let it slide for the moment.

A bit later in the evening, when Mick had just finished pouring out a glass of wine for both of them, he saw his mother looking at Instagram, which is an oddity in itself. He has to be thankful that he has some absurdly good reflexes, because he nearly accidentally tips over the bottle on the table, when he sees that his mother is looking at his instagram. More specifically, the post he has made at the end of the Monaco weekend, and one specific picture he has put into the midst of the full photoset.

The one candid of himself and Callum at the photoshoot event, the two of them laughing together at something off frame they were looking at. If they recall it correctly, it was probably Lando reaching over to unbutton George’s shirt while he was in front of the camera. He had slipped it into the photoset, probably against better judgement, after finding himself staring at it for way too long, and pressed the post button before he could overthink it. He would admit he has forgotten about it until this moment.

Mick feels himself blushing a little, not majorly, but there are hints of it if one knows where to look, and the look is back on his mother’s face. “It is a nice picture, that.” She starts, looking at Mick as she takes a sip out of the glass. Mick hums a sound in general agreement. “Michael saw it,” she continues, “earlier in the week. He was delighted seeing it.”

Mick just hums again, nodding at what she has said. The matter is left at that, as they sat there in silence, listening to the winds sweeping across the surface of the lake, and later they talk about plans to go and walk on the trails in the hills surrounding them later in the week, going and walk with Angie, saying that both Mick and Angie would enjoy it after so long, and that Angie is probably getting tired of her, which Mick says is untrue.

Later in the night, when Mick has time to himself, he sits on his bed, looking out of the window into the cloudless skies, and texting with Callum on it. He has not let himself think about it for too much over the past two weeks, but he has been growing progressively aware of the absence of Callum around him, and there is occasionally a tingle on his skin. His driving is not affected by it, certainly, as he has always been able to block out everything when the visor comes down, but outside the car, the thought of Callum comes up time and again, and whenever he gets a text from Callum, or on the occasions they have time to call or FaceTime each other, he always had a leap in his chest and a lift in his mood. It is not like he has never been in love before, but he has also not had this kind of feeling before, and he wonders if it is just going to be like this, being immensely in love, to miss someone he finds a connection with, and is genuinely comfortable with.

He smiles, when he sees Callum sending him another selfie of himself - shirtless no less - but with Poppy lying on top of him. He would be lying if he is not looking forward to being with him in person again soon, to hug him and to talk to him properly, face to face.

* * *

**15 June 2021**

_Tuesday 13:03 CET_

Callum had hopped on the plane to go home early Monday, with the knowledge that Mick was planning to go home to Switzerland straight after Canada, he figured he would go back up north where the weather is a little more agreeable to him, and he could spend more time with Poppy. As well as his family, and probably friends if he runs into them, with social distancing and household mixing restrictions still in mind. Anyway, this is why he has wasted no time to get home, and telling himself to be content, for the time being, with talking with Mick whenever they have time, which is not half bad either, anyway. Just nothing beats having the real person in front of him, but that is more or less a given.

He is out walking Poppy in the backyard, at the moment, with the dog dashing around with her little legs and sniffing everything that she could reach, and Callum follows her around, making sure that she does not get into trouble, and also just generally enjoying spending time with his dog anyway.

He sits down on the grass, rolls up his short sleeves and watches Poppy do her thing, while he enjoys the tranquil of a quiet summer morning, all by himself.

That is until a few minutes later, when his phone vibrates persistently in his pocket, and his alone time is cut short, or put on hold, at least. And he picks up quickly when he sees the caller ID.

It is not a long conversation, not at all. But it is enough time to make him wide awake, stumbling a little as he stands upright in lightning speed, to the point even Poppy is a little startled. It is, of course not the first time it has happened, but he feels a little buzz in his veins nonetheless.

He is doing another FP1 in France.

There was also a brief moment when Callum had to roll his eyes because the team seems surprised that he is already back on the island, before he has to remind them that they specifically told him that he is free to travel back if he so desired. But that is not that much of an issue for Callum anyway.

There is not much of an issue though, seeing as Callum already has a seat made from the last time he was in the car, and there is still time until the next race comes around, so he does not need to immediately turn around and go back to Italy. Though he also agrees to fly back some time during the weekend so they could do the pre-weekend work and get Callum prepared for the program they are going to do in the FP session.

He picks up poppy to go back inside to break the news to his mother, while his father is out there somewhere running an errand or two. He gets wrapped in a hug, nonetheless, and gets told that he would do very well. He texts Mick as well, a little while later, after he has properly sat down again.

From: Ilotty

_so. apparently i’ll do another FP next race._

Mick's response would not come in another few hours, with his boyfriend having told him that he is going for a long scenic hike around the backhills near his home, just him and Angie.

**19 June 2021**

_Saturday 11:28 CET_

He is in the middle of a session on the rowing machine, in Maranello, when his phone starts vibrating constantly on the table, where he has left it. He assumes it is the news that he is going to do a session in France finally gets announced, and he knows it is going to be a journey to navigate through all the notifications and mentions on his phone to get to the ones that he would really want to know and reply to.

He continues with his regimented motions on the rowing machine, sliding back as he pulls on the handle and stretches his legs out, the weight just a tad challenging, a touch more than he would otherwise have set. He is not what people would call a gym rat, he figures, that would probably be a title reserved for Marcus who more or less lives out of a gym, or rather, turns wherever he lives into a gym as well. It is not like Callum does not work out, because he does, he has his arm and a lot else to show for it as well, but it is just that he does not go as far as some others would do, chiefly Marcus, and to some extent Mick too, such that he does not fall into the category of being an absolute unit when compared to them. But you see, he does his fair share of working out too. Regardless, he ignores his phone that is exploding, and continues with his program. He is not going to distract himself from that right now, not especially when he concretely knows that he gets to drive a car sometime soon, even if it is just for a FP session.

When he finally pauses to take a break, taking a much needed sip out of his water bottle, he quickly scrolls through his sea of notifications, confirming his suspicion that his FP drive just got announced. A cursory scan of the screen does not draw his attention to anything, so he just puts the phone back, face down, and turning to his trainer as they move on to the next routine they are going to do.

* * *

_Saturday 13:59 CET_

He was thinking about Mick, on the drive back from the gym, there is no denying that. He misses his boyfriend after all, but that does not explain why he sees Mick’s car in the driveway of the house, or there seems to be activity inside it, considering that he sees lights being switched on. He wonders if a month is all it takes for him to start hallucinating about Mick just because of all the distance that is between them. Come on, it is not even that bad, it is not like they have had zero contact and communication during that time period.

He actually walks over and touches the car, just to make sure it is not his brain doing stuff to imagine a car being there, and also checks the license plate again, and confirming that it is indeed Mick’s car. Mick, who should be in Switzerland, by Lake Geneva, spending time with his family and flying directly down to Marseille for the race, and not here, in the outskirts of Maranello.

* * *

_Saturday 08:17 CET_

Mick does not think he is impulsive by any stretch of imagination. He would still insist that this is a fair assessment of himself. But there is also no denying that he is now loading his various bags and suitcases into his trunk, about to drive down to the airport, all two days ahead of schedule. His mother is next to him, intending to help him with the bags, but he says he could manage it, so it ends up being her standing next to him as he juggles with the items.

“Say hello to him, would you?”

Mick nods, before affirming, “I would.”

He thinks back to the prior evening, when this decision took root.

He was out on the back porch, sitting on an ice box that they had left out there from a while ago, with his elbows on his knees, and resting his chin on his fist. His other hand was occupied by his phone, which he is flipping around on his thigh.

He was not thinking of anything in particular, just looking out into the distance, onto the calm Lake Geneva, probably seeming a little faraway. He had just finished talking to his father a little while, and was just finding some time for himself, and finding his current position peaceful and calming.

It had probably been an hour later, when his mother found him, still in pretty much the same position, as she stood there next to him. It had been quiet, initially, and the only ripple in his bubble was his mother brushing his hair backwards, making it look a little more ruly after it was blown around by the breezes outside.

But then, his mother spoke up.

“You know, you can go to him, if you miss him.”

He paused, at first, letting his mind get back up to speed to process the words, before turning to look at his mother, who is now looking at him. Her eyes are kind and understanding, and even if Mick has never mentioned it before, nor did he think she has any inkling of it, he knows from how she is looking right now that she knows what she is talking about. A mother knows, he supposes.

Mick sighed. “I do. But also I’m here because I want to be here. I missed home too, and I also want to be here and spend time with you and dad, and Angie.”

“I know, we are all happy that you are here, I think you know that.” His mother said, and Mick noded, “We would be happy too, if you do things that make you happy. You’re not breaking your promise to be home. You’re here right now.”

Mick had then turned back to look at the lake, pondering the thought.

He later figured out that maybe he has not been as subtle as he was before in the past few days, with the texting and staring at his screen, the calls he has been taking and making here and there.

He had thought about texting Callum about it, but he knew his boyfriend would not want to intrude on his family life and take him away from his parents when he ‘already had a huge slice of his time’, as Callum had put it, so he texted Marcus instead, having not many options to turn to in terms of figuring out Callum’s whereabouts. After swearing Marcus to secrecy, he got the information that Callum was indeed already in Maranello, so he proceeded to arrange his various itineraries so he could squeeze himself into Maranello the next morning and fly out to the race in Le Castellet for the upcoming week.

His mother smiled and nodded when he told her of the decision, and fast forward a few hours, they are here in front of the trunk of the car.

“I’ll be home after Silverstone.” He says, as his mother hugs him one last time, brushing Mick’s hair as she pulls away.

She nods. “Let me know when you get there.”

“I will.” It is the same as usual anyway, Mick would always keep her posted, giving her a peace of mind if nothing else.

* * *

_Saturday 13:57 CET_

Mick towels off his hands, having just put the food in the oven to keep warm, and wanders into the bedroom. He has spotted a few washed shirts hanging by the window earlier, so he takes them off the hangar and makes quick work of them, throwing them into the drawer when they are neatly folded.

It is in this process that he hears a car pulling up to the house, a moment later the front door opening, and then footsteps in the house.

Mick feels a leap in his heart, and his skin tingling as he walks out of the room in search of Callum. He finds his boyfriend pouring himself a glass of water, and he walks up to wrap an arm around Callum’s middle as he stands abreast of Callum, in front of the kitchen island.

“Hi.” Mick says, nonchalantly, though there are still some palpitations in his heart.

“Hi yourself.” Callum responds, and also putting an arm around Mick’s middle, “fancy seeing you here.”

He tilts his head, so that he is looking at Callum, who is already looking back at him. “Missed you a bit too much.”

Callum turns, which Mick mirrors, so that they are now face to face. “Yeah, I missed having a certain blond boy around too.”

Mick pushes up on his tip toes, so that they are level, and throws his arms around Callum’s shoulders, before pressing their lips together, their noses bumping slightly as they do so. There is no urgency in their kiss, despite the lack of physical contact between them recently, and it is a bit lazy and languid as they trade kisses, tongues occasionally tangling, licking into each other to reacquaint themselves with each other’s taste. Mick lets himself be held tight against Callum, when they finally pull apart, resting his face in the crook of Callum’s neck, breathing in his boyfriend’s scent and aftershave greedily. One of Callum’s hands runs up and down his back slowly and gently.

It is a good five minutes later, when Callum speaks up again. “I thought I knew how much I missed this.” He squeezes Mick a little before pulling back to look at his face properly.

Mick’s has only gotten his heart rate under control for a little, and there is a glow emanating from inside him, notwithstanding the scorching heat of the weather around them. He brings a hand up to run his thumb across Callum’s cheek, the few bumps on his skin a familiar feeling under his touch.

“Turns out I missed it even more than what I thought.” Callum says with a tone that is aiming for nonchalant but missing it for a country mile, though he also catches Mick’s hand and intertwines their fingers together.

“Thought you were going to say something witty.” Mick remarks, as he pulls Callum a little, so they can round the kitchen counter to sit down somewhere.

Or, rather, Mick seats down on the couch, and Callum sits down in a way that he throws both of his legs over Mick’s thigh.

For all the time they have spent apart, they are surprisingly quiet right now. The fact that they have so frequently texted and talked probably played a part to this, but they are just here, leaning into each other, and relishing in the presence of each other. Mick keeps finding himself looking at Callum, despite the fact that he is allowed to stare, and his eyes keep wandering across his face, looking at the naturally tousled brown hair, the jawline, and the green eyes that are glowing under the midday sunlight.

They get to talking, eventually, asking after each other’s family and how going home was, and Mick shows Callum some pictures he had taken of Angie when they were on that hike earlier in the week. Callum talks about some of the shenanigans he has been up to on social media lately, about Robert bugging him to join him and Oscar for a cook-off for real, the podcast he has done with Marcus and all else. It is just like before, just like they have never been apart. And in a way, they really have not been apart.

A little later, when they finally remember they need to eat, only thanks to a noise that Callum’s stomach made, Mick remembers something, and goes off to rummage in his backpack while Callum sets the table. He pulls out a paper bag, and is hit with a sense of déjà vu, as he peeks into the bag to see the content is still there, before pocketing it and taking it with him to return to the table.

It is until they are nearly done with lunch, when he pulls out the bag again, and looks at Callum.

“I got you something.” He says, as he slides the bag across the table. Callum looks at it curiously before picking it up to look inside, and pouring out the contents.

Out comes a nondescript silver chain, with a small deep-red pendant on it. All low-key, but noticeable nonetheless. The pendant is garnet, he was told, when he was looking around for stuff back in Montreal. It had caught his eye, for some reason, among other more outlandish options when he walked into the third shop, and after looking around for a while, he settled back on it. It is not a terribly expensive purchase, but then again Mick doubts he had made this sort of purchase for similar purposes before.

“You’ve gone and outdone me, have you?” Callum asks, while toying with the necklace, looking at it with curiosity.

“Not everything is a competition.” Mick remarks with a smile, as he stands up to be next to Callum, reaching out for the necklace. “May I?”

Callum nods, and Mick picks it up to put it around Callum’s neck, feeling goosebumps as he does so. He steps back around, when he is done, to look at it. Before Callum could open his mouth to say anything, Mick beats him to it. “You look amazing, before you ask.”

“Is that so?” Callum asks cheekily instead.

The necklace is the only thing that stays on, when they hit the bed a few minutes later.

* * *

**22 June 2021**

_Tuesday 10:19 CET_

Mick takes the wheel, for their trip to the airport to make the short flight to France. Callum sits in the passenger seat, and they initially talk to each other sporadically, content to be in each other’s company. Midway through the trip, when they are on another straight bit of the highway, he reaches his hand over and Callum tangles their fingers together immediately. There is still a rush, being in the physical presence of each other, despite them having been reunited with each other a few days ago already. He glances over, Callum is wearing a button down shirt today, characteristically leaving an extra button undone. The silver of the necklace chain shines in the sunlight, and the red hidden to the side underneath the shirt, but otherwise also noticeable on the exposed skin of the chest, an anchor of attention on his person. Only the fact that he is driving and should really be focusing on the road is enough for him to tear his attention back to in front of him.

“People say garnet could mean love and passion and all that, if you believe in that stuff.” Callum says conversationally, picking up the on-and-off chatter they have been having the whole trip.

“Didn’t know about that.” Mick responds, though squeezing Callum’s hand that is still holding his, “we have much more than a stone could show, but it’s nice if that’s the case.”

“You’re turning into a sap.” He hears Callum say, though when he glances over at his boyfriend, his face is just as dopey, so Mick just hums and nods in mock thought, “maybe so.”

* * *

**24 June 2021**

_Thursday 15:37 CET_

Mick would be lying if he said that he did not forget that Netflix is going to shadow his team for the race, but that is a hand that he is dealt, and he is dealing with it as best as he could now, having extra crew trailing him and his other team members around when they are around the paddock. This makes finding time and space around to seek out and speak to Callum more of an impossible task, especially with prying eyes and a boom mic often shadowing him, even if they could have the spare time for each other among all the other media and racing commitments, as racing has always been a first priority for them first and foremost.

The added fact that they are being put up in different hotels and the French government having tighter requirements on distancing and isolation also renders it impossible for the two of them to just sit down and be somewhere in private to spend time with each other, so both of them are stuck on their own, in a way, and the only way they are seeing each other until they fly back out of France is while they are in the paddock, and even then with distances put between them. Mick knows that it is the responsible thing to do, all things considered - pandemic wise, and his own privacy wise when there is a crew following him, so he is not complaining, no. The fact that he had decided to head down to Italy from Switzerland to spend some time with Callum first now does not look so impulsive after all, considering that it just makes his life a bit easier here right now in Le Castellet.

Despite the tighter controls though, there are still some fans allowed to be at the track, though with great precautionary measures, which explains how Mick occasionally sees people taking pictures of him, or doing the challenging task of taking a selfie with make a few meters away, and hoping for the opportune moment that Mick happens to look in that direction, or simply that Mick is aware of it and stops to comply to make a selfie easier for the fans. Regardless, he is stopped in the middle of the paddock, just away from where fans could reach, having been heading back from the media press conference when he sees Binotto and stops to talk to him. Both being aware that Mick is being mic’d, they stick to the harmless topics of asking after how each other are doing, and talking about Mick’s progression in general terms that do not give much away. He turns around, when he hears some fans calling his name from a distance, and looks in the general direction of their phones while they try to take a selfie with them.

What really catches his attention though, is how not a minute later, there is someone that gets a lot closer to him, probably just a good two meters away and acting as if he is taking a selfie with Mick as well. He complies with it, automatically, before frowning a little at the peculiarity of the situation, though that is quickly banished when he realises that it is Callum pulling a prank on him and Mick falling into it unquestioningly, the cackles Callum lets out and the wrinkles on his face that shows his delight just puts a smile on Mick as well, muttering “idiot” fondly as Callum saunters off. He is not sure if Netflix would have a field day just with that scene, but is very aware that it is caught on tape, but he cannot even be bothered about it. Not especially when a few minutes later his phone buzzes and Callum actually sends him a photo, proving that he actually managed to take a selfie with him, while pulling a face of exaggerated wonder of seeing Mick.

Mick could not resist but to text him back.

From: M❤️️

_🤌🤌 che cazzo_

From: Ilotty

_:)_

* * *

**25 June 2021**

_Friday 12:33 CET_

Callum likes a lot of things, but he really relishes the feeling of having a car underneath him, the intense energy and forces as he accelerates and brakes, and throws the car into the corner, feeling the adrenaline pumping as he does so. Even if it is just a free practice session and not an actual race, it does not take away from the thrill and tingling feelings that he gets out of it. For once, the session is smooth sailing, unlike the time it turned out in China, and he manages to work through the program the team has set out for him when planning for the weekend, and he hopes that he has given valuable enough feedback that would be of use to the team. Driving the car definitely feels a lot different than doing it in the simulator and watching the screen come to him, and he can see how the car reacts differently in the real world situation as opposed to being in the sim, no matter how subtle it is. It is a valuable learning opportunity for him nonetheless, despite having been working in closer quarters in an F1 team since the start of the season, these opportunities are truly those that he could act like a sponge and try to absorb as much as he could, and he hopes that he has done well enough to have people sit up and notice, to see that he has what it takes, and deserves to be in a seat in his own right in the future.

He climbs out of the car, bumping fists and elbows with the mechanics and engineers, before standing by the performance engineer, looking at the screens as they review the data and see what Callum has done well and where he has room for improvement, as well as talk about the car and how it had performed in general as they tweaked the setup of the car, and the differences on how it has performed in long run and qualy situations. After that, he is off and allowed to wander off somewhere in the paddock, before FP2 commences.

He runs into Mick, on his way down the paddock, having no particular commitments and planning to just go back to the hospitality to catch his breath a little. Mick smiles brightly, Callum could tell even with a mask covering his boyfriend’s face, and they get as close as they could get, and Mick tells him that he has done a great job, and Callum returns the compliment as well, bumping their elbows like everyone else would do as they quickly get going again. Callum gets a text from Mick, who is supposed to be on his way to talk to the media, not even a minute later.

From: M❤️️

_Wish I could kiss you_

From: Ilotty

_you can’t even imagine how much I want to do that._

* * *

**27 June 2021**

_Sunday 16:57 CET_

Race has been a bit of a drab affair, but Mick is kind of used to it by now. Even with some strides being made with the aero department of the car, with the restrictions to major car developments being in place for the season with the token system, plus the fact that the team is apparently focusing on the new regulations, means that the gains on the car this year would be marginal at best, and Mick has made his peace with it for now, resolving to try and show his talents despite the machinery that he is provided with. There is admittedly, no points to show for in the end, but at least he felt like he had been more able to take the fight to other cars, and managed to pull off some wheel to wheel battles at one point or another, rather than constantly feeling like he is not on equal footing with any other cars other than possibly a Williams.

Of course it could be better, it could always be. Mick would be the first to tell you that, the competitive bone in him would always push for more. But at least he is not beating himself up over the outcome of the race, and added with the fact that he is no longer shadowed by the Netflix crew - they are focusing on his teammate, who had another shunt during the race - he finds himself in a modestly good mood.

His good mood is further improved, when he comes out of debriefing half an hour later, quick by any standards, and finds Callum standing to the side in the paddock and speaking to Arthur, who is here with the Formula 3 championship with Prema. He approaches them, just as Arthur is about to get going, and he nods as him in greeting as they pass by each other, before Mick stops in front of his boyfriend, who has his arms crossed in front of him and tilting his head at Mick, and Mick could see from his eyes that he is smiling.

“You seem happy.” Mick comments.

“I’m always happy to see you.” Callum responds without even missing a beat, earning himself a laugh from Mick.

They stand to the side, talking about how the weekend has gone, as well as about the Formula 3 races and how that championship is panning out, in a way finding that one more interesting than the one they are in, considering that it is more or less a foregone conclusion already, even though they are just eight rounds in. Mick keeps finding himself looking up and down Callum, hoping that it is not noticeable to anyone else, but he cannot get over how good Callum looks wearing a proper red team polo rather than the one from the driver academy, and he sees the hint of the necklace from underneath the collar, it being less prominent than otherwise given Callum could not leave his chest as exposed as he would have liked (Mick supposes) with the button arrangement of that particular polo.

They nod and wave at Ted, who passes by doing a post-race segment for Sky. It is then that Mick realises that he is not as subtle as he thought he is, because soon after the cameraman passes by them, Callum moves and shoulder-checks Mick in the side, urging him to start walking.

“Everyone’s gonna have a field day if they see you undressing me with just your eyes.”

Mick sputters then, nearly tripping himself over thin air, though manages to catch himself at the last moment, while Callum just looks at him with a knowing glance.

“We’d be home by midday tomorrow.” Callum states, matter-of-factly, though Mick also hears the promise in the way he has stated the fact.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, you can find my side Tumblr for this ao3 a/c: [schulott](https://schulott.tumblr.com/).
> 
> I'd love to hear your thoughts :)
> 
> Say if I get the all clear to go back to work I'll enter the real busy period - so until next time whenever it'll be?


End file.
